DESCRIPTION:
Developed to replace the Yak-38 for Soviet aircraft carrier use, the Yak-41 (later
redesignated Yak-141) was the world's first supersonic vertical/short-takeoff and landing aircraft. The
design utilized three engines, one for forward flight and two for lift, and a complex fly-by-wire
flight-control system. After initial flight tests, the airframe was modified to extend the aircraft's
flight envelope. This new design, the Yak-141M, was also intended primarily for land-basing. Though a
very advanced and capable design, Yakovlev was frustrated by shrinking funding from the Russian government
and was forced to seek international partners to continue development of the design. Yakovlev engineers
were also consulted by Lockheed during design of its V/STOL version of the F-35.